Let me tell you that I have read all 4 of his "best sellers", and my reading order was:
1>Angels and Demons(Chronologically this comes before Da Vinci Code)
2>Da Vinci Code
3>Deception point
4>Digital Fortress
Angels and demons was a superb thriller, especially the scientific effort put for the "antimatter" section. Da Vinci code was a complete dissapointment, because by now I was already aware of his Death-Prologue-One-hero-One-hot-heroine-One-dysfunctional-cold-serial-killer-One-anonymous-controller-mastermind-Some-ancient-twisted-history plot. Also, the extra short chapters failed to capture suspense after a number of repetitions.(I personally feel Da vinci code clicked with everyone only because of its religious and provocative content). So by the time I reached Deception point I was already aware of his writing style.
Even then the book delivered!
The reasons why I recommend this book over his other creations that I’d like to list down before partially revealing the plot are:
>Blistering pace. The novel moves so fast that it will keep you on top of your toes. I think this one has the best ability to capture the interest out of the 4.
>Not too many parallel plots. The writer is known for keeping 3 or 4 stories running parallely and converging them together in the end. While he does it here too, he doesn’t complicate it too much. Also, the stories do not cut into each other haphazardly and for this reason they don’t become too short.
>Ambience created. The focus of the environment of other books has been a historic city in Europe. Dan brown shows his itinerary skills by completely describing the architecture of Rome in Angels and Demons, and Paris in DVC. But here, the locale is unknown and the focus is more on the natural environment, the snow, the sea of the arctic and US.
>Involvement of other parties in the plot. The story has definitely moved away in the sense that major organisations form an integral part of the plot. Tha NASA, NSA(security and intelligence agency) and The White House form a backbone of the story, and this time it’s not just one hero who saves the day. There are 4 heroes. And more than one serial killer too.
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Plot:
Egoistic and power hungry Senator Sedgewick Sexton is in the running for the post of the president. He has no ethics and is ready to step over anyone and even use his personal life to gain sympathy to become the president.
The president is bogged down with senator’s lashing on his spendings, on the eve of the elections, especially on NASA, which hasn’t delivered any results lately. He approaches senator’s daughter, the lead character of the story, Rachel, who works for NRO, to verify a finding that has the potential to shake the entire world, and of course raise his credibility before the elections. She is completely against his father, because she has seen him betray her own mother and womanise more than once. So she accepts the offer.
She is flown to a completely frigid arctic, where she discovers a huge dome where some research is going on. She discovers that the NASA people have discovered something special hidden deep in the sea glacier. Everyone, except the controller, is unaware of the 3 Delta force seals(suggesting that someone from the higher echelons of government power is involved) keeping a tab on the proceedings. The hero, Michael Tolland, who is a TV show host about marine life, is also on board(the dome-lab of course).
She is stunned by the finding(I don’t want to reveal what it is, because it forms the crux of the plot). Although an accidental discovery by one of the scientists on the team leads to what begins as a suspicion into a hunt for the truth.
While hunting for the truth, the controller, who doesn’t want it to be revealed to the world, eliminates everyone who wants to do that. Our hero and heroine and of course other positive people are trapped in a race for survival against the delta-elites.
The senator’s assistant has a major part to play as well. She does the research required on the land-front and also is the reason behind the scandal that sexton wants to keep under the wraps.
The technology content is high. Dan brown does an impeccable job of studying everything from the KIOWA warrior helicopters to the high tech weapons of the delta force and the ships and submarines and all communication gizmos. He also gives a scientific account of the natural phenomenon, the sea and the marine life. He presents the things in a very believable way.
The climax is excellent, which is an understatement, and apart from few things that you can predict(like the inevitable role of the volcano over which the boat is resting, or the photos that reveal the scandle, or the inevitable union of the hero and the heroine) it is a thrilling journey.
Dan Brown has definitely delivered a new era of scientific thrillers. And I am glad I am a part of it:D